MONTREAL — As an organizing principle of public life, secularism (laïcité) allows us to remain who we are, to believe or not believe, without compromising our equal rights. This is invaluable because it guarantees that we can be represented, individually and collectively, by elected officials irrespective of what we believe in.

Secularism/laïcité also protects our freedom of religion and the practices flowing from our various creeds, without us having to fear threats to our lives or our rights. It thus makes possible our existence in the public sphere, both as citizens and believers.

Viewed from this perspective, secularism/laïcité is first and foremost a way to conceive of the state’s role in facilitating the peaceful coexistence of individuals who adhere to various, and sometimes incompatible, value systems. A plural society can better blossom within a secular political regime that is rooted in the separation of religious and political powers and the neutrality of the state and its institutions.

In this respect, the recent ruling of the Quebec Court of Appeal in the case of prayer at meetings of the Saguenay municipal council raises questions that challenge us, both as citizens and as scholars whose fields of expertise include the interplay between law, religion and public institutions.

The ruling seems to ignore the primary meaning of the neutrality principle, which imposes on the state a duty of reserve vis-à-vis religion. The court concludes that this principle is not violated by a municipal bylaw stating that council sessions must begin with a prayer referring to an “almighty God” who is supposed to “guide” the council’s deliberations. Could we imagine a closer link between church and state?

A municipal bylaw constitutes a governmental action. Expressing a desire for God — whether Allah, Yahweh or just God — to intervene in the conduct of municipal affairs runs counter to the principle of secularism. It is hard to reconcile such a bylaw with the definition of state neutrality recently given by the Supreme Court of Canada in a ruling dealing with Quebec’s ethics and religious-culture high-school course: “State neutrality is assured when the state neither favours nor hinders any particular religious belief, that is, when it shows respect for all postures towards religion, including that of having no religious beliefs whatsoever, while taking into account the competing constitutional rights of the individuals affected.”

The context in which the Court of Appeal’s ruling was rendered is also relevant, and it is arguably where this ruling’s consequences are the most worrisome: the minority Parti Québécois government recently revived its proposal to draw up a charter of secularism, subsequently rechristened — no pun intended — a “Charter of Quebec Values.”

One of the crucial aspects of the debate that this proposal risks triggering will be, on the one hand, to distinguish between civic and majority values, and, on the other, to draw the line between respect for the province’s cultural heritage linked to its religious past and the active promotion of religion.

In this respect, the Court of Appeal’s ruling arguably adds to the confusion instead of dissipating it. In some passages, it seems to introduce a regime of implicit recognition for some religious practices: a prayer would be acceptable as long as it remains ecumenical. In other passages, it alludes to a state’s duty to preserve its history. However, a closer reading makes it clear that the kind of recognition envisaged would essentially apply to monotheistic faiths, thereby brushing aside Quebec’s long-standing religious pluralism, as well as agnostic or atheistic viewpoints.

It is in our view extremely problematic to dissociate the so-called ecumenical nature of the prayer examined in the Saguenay case from the crusade led by the mayor of Saguenay, who does not hide that he wants Quebec’s Roman Catholic heritage strongly reaffirmed. Hence the ambiguity: does the prayer seek to protect a multiconfessional heritage, or to preserve Quebec’s Catholic history?

As citizens and scholars, we aspire to an inclusive form of secularism/laïcité that emphasizes state neutrality in religious affairs, and that treats all citizens fairly and respects their right to express their beliefs in the public sphere.

Quebec’s citizens desire a neutral state and a plural Quebec. This conclusion is not merely a belief that we share, but one that is supported by our research.

Pascale Fournier is a professor in the Faculty of Law at the University of Ottawa.Sébastien Grammond is dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Ottawa.Valérie Amiraux is a professor in the Department of Sociology at Université de Montréal.Jean-François Gaudreault-DesBiens is vice-dean of the Faculty of Law at Université de Montréal.Gérard Bouchard is a professor in the Department of Human Sciences at Université du Québec à Chicoutimi.Daniel Weinstock is a professor in the Faculty of Law at McGill University.Marie McAndrew is a professor in the Department of Education Sciences at Université de Montréal.Marc-Antoine Dilhac is a lecturer in the Department of Philosophy at Université de Montréal.Pierre Bosset is a professor in the Faculty of Law and Political Science at Université du Québec à Montréal.Jocelyn Maclure is a professor in the Department of Philosophy at Université Laval.David Koussens is a professor in the Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies at Université de Sherbrooke.

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